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Feeding hope: jean’s Story
“The kids get to stay with family. They get to stay with us, which is so important,” Jean explained as she waited in her car for a Mobile Market food distribution to begin. Jean was referring to two grandkids they had recently adopted, which brought the number of kids in her house up to 13. “This has been such a blessing from God because we have 13 kids in the house right now!
Jean has been attending Second Harvest’s Mobile Market distributions in the Tri-Cities for about six weeks. She and her husband have taken charge of several of their grandkids to keep them safe in such turbulent times.
“There were some times that, without the fresh vegetables that you provide, we wouldn’t have had any at all.”
“We’re only on one income, and so far we’re doing okay. Our bills are being paid, but we’re struggling with clothes or when the kids get too big for their shoes,” she said. “We try to pass stuff on as hand-me-downs, but you can’t always do that either.”
In order to cut back on expenses, Jean and the kids have been getting creative and trying to have some fun. “We’re recycling and reusing everything and anything we can – all kinds of stuff that you can recycle or repurpose into so many different things. It creates science and craft projects for the kids, and it feels good!”
Still, their family is grateful that groceries haven’t been stretching their budget thinner. “There were some times that, without the fresh vegetables that you provide, we wouldn’t have had any at all,” she said.
Even with 13 kids in the house, Jean has also been picking up for her elderly neighbor. “She has health issues and almost passed away a couple of months ago. She was the one who asked me to go to the distribution originally. That’s what brought me here,” Jean said. Whenever her neighbor sees an advertisement for a Mobile Market event in their area, she asks Jean if she can go and pick up food for her.
“I’m so happy she asked us because it has been helping our family so much, too,” she said. “The people have all been great. They’re nice. Even the waiting is well worth it. It’s been absolutely wonderful.
A celebration of our volunteers – April 12
Volunteering doesn’t have to be a one-time thing and the individuals who volunteer at Second Harvest in Spokane and Pasco have proven that in many ways. Even though April is nationally recognized as Volunteer Month, our gratitude for your service is year-round. In the last couple of years, the Volunteer Center in Spokane has gone through various changes and adjustments to keep up with the increase in food demand, prompted first by COVID in 2020 and then by inflation. Even with the changes, our volunteer support has stayed and become even stronger. Our community is filled with mission-driven individuals to help us feed, nourish and build the community around us.
In The Kitchen: Food Waste Prevention Week – April 5
Earth Month is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our habits and how they impact the planet. We might think about how often we drive and take advantage of the nicer weather to bike to work, or maybe even grab some friends and family and find a river cleanup event for Earth Day. But did you know that you can make an impact without even leaving your house? In fact, reflecting on our cooking and grocery shopping habits has the potential to have a greater and long-lasting impact on our environment.
Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer and Zilch: Teaming up to end hunger – March 29
Dusty Stromer understood from a young age that while his family had enough to eat, others in his circle were not so fortunate. Dusty had a courtside seat to food insecurity — he says that by age 10, he knew some of his friends came from households where food was not reliably available.
A freshman shooting guard on the men’s basketball team at Gonzaga University, Dusty recently got a close look at the fight against hunger by touring Second Harvest’s warehouse and helping to distribute free food through its Zilch program.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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